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Get coverage to protect what matters most from the start with child care center insurance.
Insurance that helps cover the risks of child care.
All businesses need insurance for their building, business property, and other equipment. Child care centers have additional insurance needs that relate directly to the care they provide and the young population that they serve. Whether you run your child care business from your home or a commercial building, you’ll need coverage specific to the needs of your business.
What is covered by a child care center policy?
Child care center insurance provides coverage for business property and liability, with the availability of coverage options for your unique risks. For example, young children are more likely to fall or get injured than adults or even school-aged children. Therefore, having protection for the injuries of the students as well as liability protection for the workers in case of a negligence suit may protect against financial losses. Other coverage options you may want to consider in your child care center insurance policy include:
- Abuse and Molestation Liability
- Business Auto
- Commercial Property
- Employment Practice Liability
- Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability
- Professional Liability
- Student Accident Liability
- Workers’ Compensation
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC
Risk Factor
The internet has spun a whole new web of liability exposures. E-commerce, social networking, cloud storage, and other technologies bring great benefits to all businesses. But with these benefits also come challenges, including protection of privacy, data, and financial information of your employees and students.
Solution
Cyber liability coverage covers unauthorized access to electronic data or software within your network. It also provides coverage for spreading a virus, computer theft, extortion, or any unintentional act, mistake, error, or omission made by an employee. This coverage is quickly becoming more and more important as you embrace technology to help run your child care center.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
Employment-related claims can be made by past or current employees, those who have applied for work, and even clients or potential clients.
Solution
Employment practices liability insurance can help protect your child care center from claims which may arise due to alleged negligence relating to discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, service refusal, or any other employee-related claim.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
Commercial auto is necessary if your center has company-owned vehicles and children are transported to and from school and/or field trips.
Solution
Commercial auto insurance can protect your center or school if an accident occurs or there is damage to a vehicle.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
Visitors walking into the center could slip and fall, a teacher or employee could cause damage to a student’s property, or a lawsuit could be filed against your child care center.
Solution
General liability insurance is a necessity for any business. It provides broad coverage when you are deemed liable and will pay to defend lawsuits alleging injuries or property damage which occurred as the result of your center’s operations.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
Everyone knows that children can be accident-prone. Often they trip and fall, collide with one another, or even knock out a tooth or break a bone, so it is important to obtain a student accident policy.
Solution
A student accident policy can cover children’s medical bills if they are injured at the center or on a sponsored field trip or activity. There are two options. Full excess reimburses secondary to the child’s health insurance plan and primary reimburses on a primary basis, regardless of the child’s current health insurance plan.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
It’s possible that your child care center could incur losses if you offer employee benefits to your team.
Solution
The administration of benefit plans can be tricky. Employee benefits liability insurance help cover any losses resulting from many types of employee benefits plans such as health insurance, retirement plans, and more.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
When working with children or youth, there is always a risk that staff/owners could be accused of physical, sexual, or mental abuse.
Solution
If an employee or owner is accused of abuse, you need abuse/molestation coverage to protect your center or school from the possibility of significant financial loss. Even unfounded lawsuits are costly to defend.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
All child care centers and schools are at risk for professional liability claims to be brought against them for negligence.
Solution
Professional liability protects your teachers and child care employees. If your staff is sued due to negligence in relation to a child’s safety or for making an error in judgement, your center can also be sued.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
What happens when your child care center faces a large liability loss that exceeds the basic limit of your standard policy?
Solution
A commercial umbrella policy provides high limits of insurance, typically between $2,000,000 and $10,000,000. Coverage is extended over your general liability insurance, workers' compensation, business auto, and directors and officer’s liability coverage. It provides a great safety net and helps ensure your school is well protected.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
Fire, weather, burst pipes, and other losses are frequent for child care centers given the large amount of physical space required to operate. These losses can cause significant damage to the school’s business personal property.
Solution
Business personal property coverage allows the center to replace property that has been damaged or destroyed by a covered cause of a loss. For a child care center, this may include property like chairs, tables, books, toys, materials, and supplies.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
If you or your staff drive their own vehicle on business time or you rent vehicles in the business name to travel to meetings, conferences, or elsewhere, you face additional exposure and risk.
Solution
Hired and non-owned auto liability protects your staff if they are driving their own vehicle to run errands. Your center or school can be held liable for injuries or property damage if a driver is involved in an accident. The hired liability portion covers rented vehicles when listed in the business name for travel use.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Risk Factor
If one of your employees receives an injury or becomes ill due to a work-related occurrence, you are required by law to have the proper coverage in place.
Solution
State disability and workers' compensation protects your employees should a job-related injury or sickness occur during their course of employment. This coverage is required by law, so be sure you have it.
Note: Actual policies must be consulted for specific terms and conditions.
Coverage that’s unique to the child care industry.
Child care centers must also insure against damage to the school or any of its property and equipment, including outdoor play structures and toys. Centers that provide transportation for students need proper business auto coverage for either a center-owned van or a worker’s own vehicle. Abuse and molestation liability coverages are essential when working with a young population.
The business side of child care centers.
Your child care center is more than just a place for learning or simply a daycare, it’s also a business. That means in addition to the coverage specific to child care centers and daycares, there are other business insurance coverages you may want to consider, such as workers’ compensation, employment practice liability, employee dishonesty, and cyber liability.
Are you looking for child care center insurance to safeguard your business so you can keep teaching and watching over the children under your care? Contact us to go over the insurance needs of your child care center.